Has anyone else noticed that lately when politicians say that they are non-partisan and they are going to work on a bi-partisan approach/program/anything, they are not really meaning that they are going to sit down with those of other parties and through giving and taking ideas, come out with the best possible solution that the majority can support? What they are meaning is that, I will sit down with those of other parties and argue until I am able to convince them that my way is best without any negotiations.
There was a great article written by the daughter of a former Senator that I thought did a good job explaining how things used to work: A Time When Partisanship Didn't Exist. I don't fully agree with what she summizes happened to change things, but I am 100% behind her suggestion on how we can change it.
So what did happen?
I think there is really one explanation for it that manifests itself in two different ways. As a society we have become so seperated from each other that we no longer know what is reality. We communicate with each other face to face on a such a limited basis now that our entire world has been given to us through what we watch on TV, see in Movies, and hear on the radio. We all know how the media (a minority in this country) have been able to convince the masses of what is "really" going on. How has this changed our politics?
First, our politicians have moved to pushing for what they see as good for those who reach them the loudest. They all want to be seen as Jimmy Stewart was when he portrayed Mr. Smith in "Mr. Smith goes to Washington". Rather than find out what would be something they could do that would be a good thing, they pick up on what the loudest (usually the minority) want and do whatever it takes to give it to them (as long as it follows their party beliefs).
Second, we want to see our representatives fighting for what they believe in, not giving in to anyone else. We want to see them "win" no matter the cost. The problem has become that the minority are loudly proclaiming that they want the majority to accept their demands and just deal with it.
How do we get out of this mess?
I think that we really need to, as voters, begin working together to sort out our differences (and yes there will be some give and take, which is possible on the major issues facing our country without sacrificing basic individual values) which will then hopefully translate into our elected officials doing the same.
3 weeks ago
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1 comment:
I think you make good points. One of the issues that we will have working together through our differences, is that we have all been listening to those loud minorities and haven't really though things out. We hear them say that if we believe such and such we are denying this core belief. Most of the issues that plague our country's politics are not morality based. For instance, economic issues. Why can't we compromise on that? Anyway. Good post. Hopefully the American people will start taking the initiative and quit relying on the government (which I think is another reason for the partisan problems we are in).
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